We need a British austerity revolt

Seumas Milne is spot-on in his call for the left to formulate strong anti-austerity policies in Europe (If the left doesn't lead revolt against austerity, others will, 9 May). Not for a long time has there been such an opportunity for the promotion of strong socialist policies of wealth distribution. These will surely find support from electorates fed up with being asked by rightwingers to pay more and more to keep wealth and privilege where it has always been.

The urgent need for coherent leftwing policies should not be underestimated. There can be no complacency about the rise of the far right in Europe. History shows us that once fascism gains an electoral foothold in times of economic uncertainty, it can spread like wildfire. The 5% of voters who backed Le Pen in France and 7% who voted for Golden Dawn in Greece will mushroom if progressive policies offering the dispossessed hope are not formulated quickly. Even in the UK the EDL are stirring up race hate on the back of the conviction of the paedophile ring in Rochdale.

While the BNP vote was small in the last election, it had doubled since the previous poll. It is essential that the Labour party adopts radical popular policies as an alternative to austerity and that all mainstream politicians resist the temptation to adopt the rhetoric of fascism as a lazy way to win cheap votes.Tim MatthewsLuton, Bedfordshire

• Three cheers for Syriza (Why Europe needs Greece, 12 May). The opposition to the austerity-mongers by the Coalition of the Radical Left in Greece is an inspiration to us all. France has the Front de Gauche, Germany has Die Linke, Greece has Syriza. We need a British equivalent, to challenge the Cameron-Clegg-Miliband pro-cuts consensus and participate in a pan-European repudiation of the politics of enriching the rich at the expense of the rest. John WakeHarlow, Essex

• Simon Jenkins (Get smart, Osborne. Before our cities become Detroit UK, 9 May) is right to call for a change in economic direction in the wake of local election results, anti-austerity votes in France and Greece, the dreaded double-dip becoming a reality and the renewal of coalition vows among Basildon tractors. He is wrong, however, to exclude ramped-up public infrastructure investment as the way out for the UK.

While we have a relatively low public-debt-to-GDP ratio of about 66%, personal debt, built on the UK's housing market bubble, is fast approaching 140% of GDP. Extra consumer spending is unlikely to pull the UK out of recession, since families are already being squeezed between stagnant incomes and debt repayments.

The answer has to be infrastructure investment by the state, creating jobs rather than presiding over escalating debt. The advantage too is that the UK will acquire new public assets for the long term that will be a positive addition in the national accounts.Kevin GulliverDirector, Human City Institute

• It is worth turning back the page to Simon Jenkins' commentary on Osborne's first budget (23 June 2010). "This is classic neo-Thatcherism … but the gamble that the coalition is taking with British economic growth is colossal. If it works – and we shall know soon enough – Thatcherism's hour will indeed have come." The conclusion in 2012 has to be that the gamble on growth has failed. Jenkins' integrity should surely follow his normal lucid logic and call for the head of George Osborne?Peter HackBristol

• Philip Hammond claims (Austerity measures are choking growth, warns thinktank, 4 May) that consumers who borrowed too much during the economic boom must "accept responsibility" for their part in the financial crisis. I wonder what advice he would give to the students who now face the prospect of 30 years of mounting debt. With an annual interest rate of RPI plus 3% they are being required to take out a loan to cover costs of approximately £45,500. At the current RPI of around 5% the total debt will double in about nine years.Anne KennyCanterbury, Kent